Celebrate National Roundabout Week And Its Safety Impact

Minnesota is known for many things; over 10,000 Lakes, Snow and Cold Weather, Mall of America and 4 professional sports teams are among the identifying labels that our state has earned. 

There’s one thing that Minnesota residents know the state for, and that’s the state of Roundabouts. Many residents refer to roundabouts as the “Minnesota Traffic Light” because there’s so many of them and they’ll just appear in the middle of nowhere.  

The Minnesota Department of Transportation took to their “X” account over the weekend to promote the fact that this week is “National Roundabout Week” from the Federal Highway Administration. Roundabouts have had a positive impact on Minnesota roads, and their numbers are quite impressive.  

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MnDOT says that fatal crashes have been reduced by 86% around the state since roundabouts began to be widely used. Another impressive number the state attributes to the use of roundabouts is that there’s an 83% decrease in life altering crashes as well. 

There has also been a 42% reduction in injury crash rate at intersections across Minnesota. 

Things around Minnesota are moving faster as well since roundabouts handle higher amounts of traffic with less delays. The design of the curves slows traffic while allowing flow to continue and motorists continuing their way. The pavement markings the state puts on the road surface are vital for drivers to pay attention to so that traffic continues smoothly.  

Reducing the number of traffic lights has allow to there to be less cars idling which is placing more emissions into the air. Emissions and fuel consumption have been reduced by 30%.  

So, keep paying close attention to the traffic around you entering and exiting the roundabouts and things will keep rolling around Central Minnesota safely and on time.